The boy is 11!

J with his cousin who is just 4 days younger.  Cousin is on the left, J on the right.  They were only a few months old.  J's birth was very normal...with a 27 hour labor.  He was 2 weeks early.

When Seth and I worked at a camp for a year, 3 of us full-time staff were pregnant.  Here,  a year later, the 3 babies met again.  J is the naked baby.  lol



Yesterday was a big day.  My son turned 11 years old.  He is my oldest, my first-born, the child that made me a mother.  And that being the case, he is very much a typical oldest child.  He is very obedient, does what he's told right away (usually), and tries to get his younger sisters to do the same.  hahaha  He is a great big brother.  If I had a brother, I would want one just like him.

He took on his big brother roll right away at 2 years old.

Still a loving big brother at 3, holding his sister's hand while she sleeps.

Since yesterday was Sunday, we attended church like we do almost every Sunday.  Our church has 3 meetings on Sunday and as hard as I tried, we didn't quite make the first meeting.  I wanted to, but the kids were harder to get up yesterday.  I just assume we are still recovering from our trip to Idaho and the time zone.  I was late getting them up too.  As soon as I could, I went into J's room bounced on the bed shouting, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY 11 YEAR OLD!!!  IT'S TIME TO GET UP, BIRTHDAY BOY!!!"  Then I went into the girls' room to stir them awake.

For his 4th birthday, we invited some friends to join us at the zoo for Wacky Water Wednesday.  They bring a fire truck out and make it a big sprinkler park.  J got to sit in the fire truck.

I left to get my breakfast and none of my 3 children were up.  I went back to J's room and bounced on his bed again and added some tickling.  That got him.  :)  Anyway, we arrived at church 15 minutes late.  Not too bad, I thought.  But it was potluck.  And I parked too far away from the kitchen door.  My chocolate fudge pie that J wanted me to make wasn't coming out right.  I had never made it before and found a recipe online I thought I could do.  I followed the instructions exactly as it read, but the pie was not baked thoroughly.  It spilled as I drove.  I thought maybe if I put it in the fridge in the kitchen, it will solidify.  No such luck.  I also had a crock pot of meatballs, also requested by J.  I guess those were a success since my crock pot was emptied and cleaned before I took it home.  The pie stayed in the fridge and I baked it more later at home.

No cake for his 5th birthday, just candles on pizza!

So, once I carried everything into the kitchen, it was 15 minutes later.  We would now be a half an hour late and I felt that was just too late to walk into a church service.  So we sat in the back and waited.

Since I now teach a Sunday School class, we went into J's class and sang to him.  Then his class went out for donuts for his birthday.  Later, we enjoyed our potluck, and we headed home discussing what J would like to do with his afternoon.

His 6th birthday also landed on potluck Sunday.  Here he is with a girl from church.

He celebrated his 7th birthday with his kindergarten class.  He's the one standing with K sitting next to him.

Seth is on-call so we couldn't plan on him being around.  J decided to go swimming.  With it being over 100* yesterday, I thought that was a great idea, especially since it doesn't cost that much.  We let Rambo out for an hour or so, and then we headed to the pool.  We all had fun.  J and K are getting much better at swimming so I let the lifeguards watch them while I kept a close eye on Little A.  It was an afternoon well spent.

We celebrated his 8th birthday in Idaho.  Baby sister A helps him lick the candles.

We spent the afternoon of J's 9th birthday at a sprinkler park.

At the age of 10, we sent him off to camp for the first time.

We came home and Seth was there.  He actually got home shortly after we left.  We had goulash for supper, J opened presents, then we had cake, ice cream, and that pie.  The pie was ok.  The cake was rushed and didn't turn out well either.  Maybe it will taste better today.  J also got a video call from Auntie Mati and her family including his grandparents.  It was fun "seeing" them and talking with them.  J shares a birthday with Uncle Mike so we exchanged our "happy birthdays".

It was a fun and exhausting day.

Happy birthday, J!!  It is so exciting to see the young man you are becoming!  I love you!!!

It's been too long

We just returned from a somewhat spontaneous trip to Idaho.  We did not plan on going but when my father-in-law asked for help to reshingle his roof, we started packing.  It had been 3 years since we had visited and about that long since we had seen Seth's parents.  That's a long time to go without seeing family.  Little A didn't even remember them.  But she was just as excited as the rest of us to make the long 19 hour trip.

Rambo, however, wasn't that thrilled.  The 6 hours to Iowa was long enough.  19 hours was almost too much for the little guy.  He didn't whine or bark or become a nuisance.  He just looked depressed.  He didn't eat as long as we were traveling.  He mostly curled up on my lap and slept.

We left on a Saturday morning around 6:00 AM central time and arrived Sunday afternoon around 3:00 PM Mountain time.  Seth's grandma has been staying with his aunt in Utah so we stayed in her house by ourselves.  It was kinda nice having a place to go to when chaos errupted (and when you're around in-laws for long periods of time, that tends to happen  lol).  Not that my in-laws are stereotypical.  In fact, far from it.  I must have the best in-laws ever.  Chaos just tends to happen with family.  :)

Anyway...

Seth worked on the roof with his parents, sister, and brother-in-law.  The kids helped a little too.  It had been 5 years since we saw Seth's younger sister and her family.  Of course Little A didn't remember them since she was about 6 months old the last time we saw them.  Mike and Mati and their 4 kids just officially moved to Seth's hometown.  Mike is the new pastor at their church.  Their kids really hit it off with our kids.  2 of their kids are the same ages as our older 2.  They got along as if they had never been apart.  It was awesome.  Little A claimed their youngest as her buddy and enjoyed picking on the 2 older boys.  It was just amazing how much they all had in common and how well they got along.

Our kids introduced the art of becoming a ninja to their cousins.

J and K are on the roof while Little A watches from the ground.

Since we missed K's birthday, we celebrated her birthday there.  We also got to watch my niece and youngest nephew play softball.  Twice.  It was fun to watch all the kids play.  Little A bonded with older nephew during the game.  And Rambo escaped his leash like Houdini and took off just before the game ended.  We still have no idea how he did it.

Once they decided to stop working on the roof, we enjoyed some fun outings.  We went swimming at the hot springs which is usually my favorite part of going to Idaho (besides seeing family, of course).  After coming home, we enjoyed some homemade pizza and ice cream.  We also got to see our oldest niece and nephew who joined us for pizza and ice cream.  We hadn't seen them in about 8 years.  Little A had never even met them and K probably didn't remember them.  Their mom came the next day.  It was soooo good to see them all.  8 years is just insanely too long to not see family.

We bought some fun things at the farmer's market and made tie-dye shirts. There was a lot going on while we were tie-dying. There was sword fighting and rubber band wars. And if you read my blog on facing your fears, you would know my phobia with rubber bands. So, I hid inside.

We decided to grill out at the reservoir for supper.  The kids thought they would wade in the water.  We adults thought they would be crazy.  But they did.  And it was very cold!!  The next day, Seth's older sister and her 2 kids had to leave.  It was so hard to say good bye to them, not knowing when we'd see them again.  My nephew will be heading to boot camp in November and my niece will be starting her senior of high school.

For our last hoorah, we headed up into the mountains and roasted hot dogs and had s'mores.  The kids had fun building dams and bridges in the creek with sticks and exploring the hills close-by...and others that weren't so close-by.  We adults talked and shot guns.  By the end of the evening, I was in 2 sweatshirts, my in-laws were in sweatshirts, and K was in her winter coat and gloves.  Even Rambo was shivering in his sweater.

The next morning, we said a teary good bye to our family and left around 10:30 AM mountain time Monday.  We always take it a little slower getting back.  None of us wanted to leave.  We have been praying to be able to move there but God has not yet opened that door.  It's hard to be patient but we know God's timing is perfect.

With a little mishap of running out of gas, we made it home around 9:30 PM central time Tuesday.  Rambo was sure glad to be home.  He was the only one of us who was happy.

So, here we are, trying to get back into the grove of being home.  It was an excellent vacation, but exhausting.  And my house just isn't as clean as Seth's grandma's.  :)

The mountains of "home".

My K

Today is a bittersweet day.  Normally I love birthdays and I want to make the best out of them for whomever is celebrating theirs.  Today is my daughter, K's birthday.  She is 9 years old.  Wow, how time flies.  However, I can't celebrate with her because she is at camp having the time of her life.

As we looked at the calendar to decide which week for them to go to camp at Kansas Bible Camp, we had 3 options: during K's birthday, starting on J's birthday, or during our VBS.  They both wanted to go during K's birthday.

So, today, I sit in a nearly empty house and mostly quiet as it is just me and Little A.  I know they are both having fun.  But I sure do miss my K and hugging her and telling her happy birthday.  That's all I wanted to do this morning when I woke up.

Her big brother was almost 2 years old when she was born.  That was a very emotional birth.  Long story short: flipped around the night before I went into labor, started coming feet first, emergency c-section, wasn't breathing, began to cry, my life would never be the same.  At 6 lbs 14 oz and 17 in. long, she was my little bundle of spunk!

Her personality came out quickly.  She is not quite a year old here and you can see she loves to be the center of attention - as long as she brings it on herself.  She sings, she dances, she is queen.  She began talking around this time.  People stopped in stores to ask how old she was because she talked so well at such a young age.

Here, at nearly 2, she and her brother decided to spread lotion onto our bed.  Wasn't that nice of them?  K is the one who always has the "great ideas" and naturally takes the lead.

On her third birthday, she dressed up in her prettiest dress because she is the princess of all princesses.  That was our first year being in the Toys R Us birthday club so we went to Toys R Us to spend birthday money.  She wore a crown and several people told her happy birthday.  She had a ball.

At almost 4 years old, she is now a big sister.  She isn't afraid to be herself and let her goofiness come through.  She may be my sister's mini-Amanda, but she gets a lot of her goofiness from me.

At 5 years old, she LOVED to dress up.  And still does.  She gets that from me, too.

After she turned 6, she got to celebrate her birthday in Idaho.  She helped her grandma make her birthday cake.  Of course she gets to lick the beaters.

For her 7th birthday, she finally got a big bike.  She loves her bike.  She keeps asking for accessories.  Now she has a horn.

We have been told that her name means "beautiful".  Doesn't she fit her name?  At 8 years old, she had lost a few teeth but she still has a smile that can light up a room.

This is the last day I saw her.  We left her and her brother at camp.  She was excited and nervous but I hear she is having fun.  I even got a letter from her today.  It helped make today a little better.

A few K-isms...

   3 years old:  She told me she was painting in the kitchen.  She was....with ketchup.

   3 years old:  She comes into our bedroom with blue and green marker striped all over her.  "We wanted to be tigers."

  Almost 4:  She prayed this prayer, "God and Jesus, thank You for saving my life. Thank You that I can go to heaven and live with Jesus. Amen."

   4 years old: While watching the Prince of Egypt, she began crying.  "That girl had to give Moses away."

   4 years old:  While tossing a ball up and down the stairs with J, "Exit the game, I have to go potty!"

   4 years old:  When my mom visiting, she asked where we wanted to eat.  K responded, "The one with the farm!"  Confused my mom asked what she meant.  "Old MacDonald's!"

   Almost 5:  K pushes the emergency exit at McDonald's.  "I'm sorry!  I didn't know!"

   5 years old:  After seeing a man with a spiked mohawk she says, "He looks like a dinosaur!"

   5 years old:  After I commented on how thoughtful she was for getting a drink for her dad she says, "I'm being serveful, Mommy!"

   5 years old:  She prays, "And when I get fat and old, I want to die and go to heaven. Amen."

   6 years old:  After coming home from VBS and seeing that her huge decorative castle wall sticker was on the floor in pieces, "Awww, my castle! Alie must have done it. But it's a treasure that doesn't last."

   6 years old:  "I know how God put the wool on the sheep. He takes snow, because it's white, heats up and then puts it on the naked sheep!"

   6 years old:  After J accused her of pushing him for no reason, "Yes I did. I pushed him for a reason."

   7 years old:  "Mom, you're a perfect Mom.  Because you're pretty and nice."

Happy birthday, K!!  I love you!!!



A Precious Moment of Goodbye

I seemed much busier in my head this summer than what I really am.  Yesterday we dropped off our two oldest children at camp.  K was a bit scared but we knew she would have a blast.  J had gone last year and had plenty of fun.  Little A sobbed as she had to say goodbye.  I wanted to take a picture, but I felt that might be too invasive on such a precious moment between A and her siblings.

Little A often has trouble leaving someone or watching someone else leave.  It absolutely crushes her heart every time.  I've never seen such a sweet and caring person as she is.  I tell her she will be a wonderful wife, an amazing mom, and a great nurse.

K had gotten her anxiety out in tears on Saturday as she hugged her dad and curled up on my lap.  A week can be a long time away from your parents when you're 8, almost 9 years old.  She will actually be celebrating her birthday at camp this week.  I'm not sure how I'm going to feel on that day...knowing my daughter is turning 9 and I can't be with her to help her enjoy her special day.  I love celebrating birthdays and if I had the money and sanity, I would throw each of my children huge birthday bashes with all of their friends.

Yesterday, we pulled up to the camp, unloaded their things and got them all signed in.  I helped K pick out her bed and Seth helped J get his things set up.  Then they both could get ready to go swimming.  We hugged and said our goodbyes, but Little A wanted to see them in the pool first so we waited.

First K came out.  We watched her enjoy the cool water and eventually J joined her.  We chatted for a bit, I took a few pictures (on my digital camera and I can't upload them directly onto this computer so they will have to wait).  We talked with other parents we knew.  Then it was time.

Seth said his goodbyes and walked back to the van.  That's when it hit Little A.  She couldn't even talk.  K and J got out of the pool and held her hands through the fence as she sobbed over having to leave them.  I hope it's a moment I never forget.

After a few minutes, I finally pulled Little A away.  I picked her up and carried her back to the van as she continued to cry on my shoulder.  "I want to say goodbye some more."  I told her she would want to say goodbye all day if we let her.  I buckled her into her seat in the van and drove around the pool area.  "I want to say goodbye again!"  I drove slowly and stuck my hand out the window to wave while Little A yelled out "Goodbye!" as best she could in her teaful voice.  J and K both saw us and waved as we drove away.

Daddy started to talk to her about other things and eventually got her to cheer up.  Soon she was smiling and chatting away as we drove the hour-long drive back home.  She played her dance game on the XBox and was back to her normal self in no time.

This morning she cried again as Daddy had to leave for work.  And I am just sitting here being lazy, wondering how my daugher at camp survived the night.  Last year I was sick to my stomach leaving J at camp for a week.  This year I'm doing much better, but I'm sure the week will get harder...especially on Thursday which is K's birthday.  Little A and I will have to find things to do to keep us occupied and our minds off of the 2 greatest older siblings in the world whom we miss so much.  We'll have some fun together and do the chores together.  And Friday we will get to see J and K again.

We will all be ok.

A Most Enjoyable Weekend

My husband did not have to work last Friday so that meant a 4-day weekend.  Well, if we could finsih school.  Friday was originally our last day, but with Seth not having to work, we thought we should all be free to do something fun.  So the kids pushed hard and finished school on Thursday.  Some nights they were working on school until 7:00 at night, but they did it. 

It wasn't easy.

We all had Friday free.  And how did we spend it?  Mostly just sitting around being lazy and recovering from all our hard work.  It was much needed and well deserved.

Saturday we got up and went to several garage sales.  The kids brought along their own money and bought what they thought they needed.  Eventually we had to take their money and approve their purchases.  We also had a talk about bartering and knowing what is priced too high.  Unfortunetly this talk happened after K bought a very over-priced doll.  So she used our conversation to barter at the next garage sale.  The item she wanted to buy really wasn't a bad price but she walked right up to the person running the sale and said, "I'll give you $2 for this."  The woman seemed a bit shocked and reluctantly agreed to the price.  Then my daughter says as she's pulling out the $2 from her purse, "You really shouldn't over price your stuff."  Making me a completely humiliated mother.

We stopped at a friend's house and sat and talked for a while.  It was nice.  And their kids get along very well with ours.  Then we had some lunch and discussed what else we could do.  I really don't remember what happened the rest of the day, but it was nice to not have any pressing plans.

Sunday we went to church and I had 1 student in class with me.  It was quite fun.  We got through our entire lesson in one sitting.  Usually it takes 2.  But since it was just the 2 of us, we got it covered pretty quickly.  Sunday afternoon we spent getting ready to campout in our backyard.  We cleaned up the living room and kitchen too.

Finally, we all relaxed in our backyard.  We roasted hot dogs over our fire pit and then had some s'mores.  Rambo didn't know what to do with himself.  He kept going to the door and whining to be let in, but no one was inside.  Soon it was getting late and I was ready to crash.  I was ready for bed before anyone else and inside our tent while the kids were still playing.  It wasn't long before everyone joined me though.  And Rambo just didn't like what was going on.

I love our fire pit.

K showing off one of her garage sale finds.

Mmmmmm!!

I must say, I can roast a pretty mean hot dog.

Rambo....wondering why no one is going inside.

We all spent the night pounding out the lumps in the ground and listening to Rambo cry.  Oh, the neighbors behind us got a new dog so he was back there barking, too.  But I love it.  My family went on vacations every summer and we almost always slept in a tent.  I didn't mind at all.

The next morning, however, we were the crabby family.  Seth made us breakfast burritos.  Afterwards, we cleaned up our things from the night before, took down the tent, and got ready for company.  Seth was smoking some pork for supper and he needed to get started.  We had invited some friends over.  After some much needed naps, we cleaned up the house and got ready.

Rambo was just tuckered out from his long night in the tent.

We had a great time with our friends.  The kids ended up playing in the sprinkler and getting soaked.  We had watermelon and popsicles and just enjoyed good fellowship.  After they left, we cleaned up and just enjoyed the last few hours of our amazing weekend.

We didn't do a whole lot and it wasn't all precisely planned.  It was perfect.

Rambo's story

Hi!  I'm Rambo.  I am a 4 month old puppy and I was adopted by the Harrington family.  I love them.  Last weekend we went on a big adventure and I'm going to tell you all about it.

I could tell something unusual was going on when my kids and Mom were getting out bags and clothes and other things.  Mom seemed to be a little stressed.  She didn't like me hopping all over the clothes and the bags and trying to get her attention.  My kids giggled as usual.  I like it when they giggle at the things I do.

Friday started out differently that it usually does.  Most days, Dad gets up and leaves so I have to cry and whine until somebody lets me out of my crate.  On this particular Friday, Mom got up first.  She let me outside and then let me play while she continued putting things in bags.  I wanted to play with my kids but she told me it wasn't time yet.

I found other things to do until Mom opened those doors and let me in to see the kids.  They weren't quite ready to play with me but that's ok.  I don't mind just cuddling in bed with them.  Mom said they needed to get up and get their things done.  Dad got up shortly afterwards and left like he always does.  I made sure to tell him good morning though.

Then something strange happened.  My kids and Mom put my crate in the garage along with my food and water dish.  They locked the door to the outside and closed the door to the house.  They had never done this before.  I wondered what was going on.  I probably sat on the step and cried for a long time, but no one ever came to get me.  I was getting worried.

Finally, I heard Dad come home.  He came and rescued me from the garage.  I ran around the house trying to find Mom and my kids.  I kept crying to Dad asking where they were.  I didn't like that they were gone.  Dad gathered my things and put me in my crate.  We were going for a ride!  I'm not sure how I liked that.  I rode in a different car than what I was used to.  There was another man with Dad.  They call him Andy.  There was also another dog named Tucker.  He was ok, I guess.  But I missed my kids.

I slept for most of the ride.  I don't know how long it was, but it was very dark when we arrived at a strange house.  There were a lot of new smells I had to inspect.  Dad brought me in and showed me that Mom and my kids were there.  Whew!  I was so worried about them.  I was so glad to know they were there.

The next morning, Mom took me outside.  All the smells distracted me from what I was supposed to do out there.  Tucker was there, too.  After I went inside, I wanted to tell everyone good morning, but there were more people there than what I was used to.  I saw my kids and told them good morning and then Tucker's kids were there.  I had seem them before but I didn't know they belonged to Tucker.  I told them good morning, too, but they didn't like how excited I was to see them.  Mom made sure I met the others.  One was called Grandpa and the other was Grandma.  Mom's friend Lisa was there too.  She had come to see me at my house so I knew who she was.

Before I knew it, more people came.  There was Tim, Sara, Nate, Amanda, and even more kids!  I was so excited!  I love kids!!!  I played outside for a little bit but they put me back inside.  All of the people were outside lined up and smiling at some lady while Tucker and I sat inside and watched through the glass door.  It wasn't fair.

Mom and Dad tried to feed me but Tucker liked to eat my food.  I guess they didn't like that.  I didn't always eat when they wanted me to.  I snuck food from Tucker's dish anyway.  After everyone came inside, I got to meet a person called Grandma Lola.  Everyone was so nice and the kids were so much fun....at first.

Throughout the weekend, I spent a lot of time playing outside with all the kids.  There were 10 of them!!  Yes, I know how to count.  How else am I supposed to make sure everyone is there?  They liked to chase me and pick me up and carry me and put me down and chase me and pick me up and carry me and put me down.  I eventually got tired of their games and found a hole through the fence.  I wanted to explore other places.  I found some other kids close by but Dad came and got me.  Bummer.  They were nice, too.

Every time the people left, they put me in my crate.  I don't like it at first but once I realize no one is there to play with me, I'm ok.  I just look forward to when they all come home.  I have to tell everyone hi, or else it would just be rude.  Grandpa took me to the living room to play with me.  He got on the floor and we wrestled for a bit.  I bit at his fingers - nicely of course.  I don't like to hurt my people.  I also messed up his hair.  It was fun!  I liked that he played with me.

On Sunday, everyone leaves in the morning which is normal at home, too.  But when they all came home, I got to play with the kids again.  And, even more people arrived!!  There was Bonnie, Chandra, and Amber.  I really liked Amber.  I wanted to play with Chandra but she kept saying something about allergic.  I don't know what that means, but I knew she couldn't pick me up so I just licked her feet to tell her hi and moved on.

The kids kept playing that chase game with me and I got tired again.  So off through that hole in the fence.  I hid underneath one of the cars as they all came out to get me.  Mom came out too, but I know her tricks and I wouldn't fall for them.  Grandpa got me though.  I think the big people knew that I was getting tired of the kids playing with me and just wanted to do my own thing so they helped me out.

I saw that Tucker's family was putting bags in their car.  They must be leaving soon.  I found a wonderful place to roll around in under a tree.  It had a great smell.  But my people didn't think it was that great.  No one wanted to hold me and Mom held me at a distance but it was too late.  She started to smell like I did.  Soon there was talk of a bath.  Oh no!  What did I get myself into?  Grandpa had a bottle of green stuff and I heard Mom say ok.  My stuff at home is pink but I guess green works, too.  Grandpa filled up a sink with water and used the green stuff to wash me up.  Mom stood close by to help.  Then she held a towel out as Grandpa put me in her arms.  I really don't like baths.  They make me cold.  I shivered in Mom's arms wrapped in a towel.  She took me back upstairs where the other people were.  They all looked at me like I was suddenly cuter than I was before.  I don't understand what they see.  I look more like a drowned rat.  After a bit, Mom put me down and I ran around trying to dry out my ears on the floor.  I hate it when they are wet.

Tucker's family eventually left and others started to leave too.  Soon I saw that Mom and Dad were putting bags in our car - the car I normally ride in.  I hope they weren't going to leave me again!  They weren't.  I saw Dad put my things in the car and soon my kids were all in the car and I was in my crate.  It was time to go back home.

We stopped a few times and I got to explore new places with new smells, but we didn't stay nearly long enough for me to figure out the place.  Finally, we arrived home.  Ahhhh, the home I knew!!  I was excited to be home and excited to see that all my kids and Mom and Dad were all there with me!!

What a fun adventure that was!!  I sure hope I get to do that again someday.

Funny how that works...

I was getting into a good groove.  I'm not the best homemaker on the planet.  In fact I'm probably not even in the top 500.  Since I never wanted to be a homemaker, wife, and mother, it is a daily struggle for me to do this job that God has given me.  Nevertheless, when I choose to be joyful in my work, I can actually like it.

So, I felt I was doing a pretty good job.  I have been learning that it's ok if something doesn't get finished.  If I just keep at it a little at a time, it WILL get finished eventually.  I have been learning to not stress about what isn't done or what can't be done or what to do if we get thrown off schedule unexpectedly (really, when does that happen expectedly?).  I created a plan for the kids and myself of what should be done on a daily basis, weekly basis, and monthly basis.  Some things didn't get done, some things were harder to do than others, but I was feeling like something was getting accomplished and I was slowly putting my house together the way I wanted it.

And it always seems to happen when I'm doing so well in this area.  Something not only throws me off schedule but throws me completely out of rhythm to the point that I can't get back on in a day or two.  Often times it's an illness.  Not this time.  This time I decided to hurt my back.  Ok, *I* didn't decide to do this, obviously, but somehow, God thought this was a good time to allow my back to endure some sort of a charlie horse and keep me from doing my normal activities for a week.

Well, it hasn't been a week, but it might as well be at this point.  It will be difficult to catch up on missed chores and schoolwork, especially if I'm still not 100% yet.  Whatever God's purpose is in all of this, I completely trust Him.  If I didn't, I'd be really stressed out.  Letting go of whatever is on my mind and letting God handle everything gives me peace.  I don't have to be in control because He is.  I don't have to worry about how things are going to get done, because He knows.  I don't have to stress out about getting behind, because He already knew I would face this problem and has planned out my steps for me.  Isn't He just an awesome God?

Still, in my human thinking, this is just a bad time for me to be laid up.  Or not able to accomplish tasks to my full capabilities.  Starting Friday, my summer hits in full swing.  And my husband wants to add something else on Saturday - I'm trying to convince him otherwise.  It's not working.  That's ok, what's one more event that would force me into really cleaning my house in my current injured state?  From this weekend on, I will be running around with multiple things dashing through my head all at once until August.  Then, I can breathe.  For 3 weeks.  Then school starts again.  That's the usual routine for my summers though.

I just keep thinking, with all the stuff I have going on in the next few months, I don't have time to mess with a sore back.  But, it's not like I was already behind and my house was already a horrendous mess.  We were doing ok - I could almost accept drop-in visitors without embarrassment.  But, as it always seems, just as I get on a good roll, something disrupts it.  God just wants to make sure I'm still trusting Him even when things are going well.  Funny how that works.